Recovered teen drug addict graduates among top research students at CSULB

LONG BEACH - As a homeless teenager addicted to drugs, Sarah Clingan never thought about going to college, let alone pursuing a master's degree.

But Clingan turned her life around and did go on to college. This week she graduates from Cal State Long Beach as an award-winning research student with a bachelor's degree in psychology.

Clingan, now 30, plans to go on to earn her master's and doctoral degrees in psychology and hopes she can use her life experiences to help others.

"I was definitely on a bad path and I didn't care about the future," she said. "I had to take a good look at my life and decide how I was going to live it. Today, I can say I'm proud of where I am. I don't think there are many people out there with a Ph.D. who have my background."

This month, Clingan was one of three Cal State Long Beach students to win top honors in the 26th annual Cal State University Student Research Competition, which recognizes significant research done by undergraduate and graduate students. She earned first place in the undergraduate division for her research project on "Sex Trading for Drugs in Long Beach, California."

Through her work with the university's Center for Behavioral Research and Services, Clingan surveyed thousands of drug users and others who came to the center for services, such as HIV testing. Clingan said she discovered that one out of every five drug users in the city has traded sex for drugs.

Clingan said the research is important for public health workers as they push to establish better guidelines for education and prevention.

As a former drug addict who now works as a drug and alcohol counselor, Clingan believes her experiences give her a unique understanding of the people she details in her research.

Clingan, who grew up in the middle-class city of Cypress, began using drugs at an early age. She was kicked out of school in the seventh grade and earned her GED in a juvenile detention center, where she was serving time for an assault and battery that occurred during an alcohol-related blackout.

Released from juvenile hall at age 18, Clingan began using heroin and was soon living on the streets committing petty theft for drug money.

Her thefts eventually led to a two-year stint in prison.

"I realized then that I needed to change my life around," she said.

Clingan said she at first resisted drug treatment but slowly began to change. About a year out of prison she earned her certificate in drug and alcohol counseling and enrolled at Cypress College in 2007.

"School was intimidating at first. I basically hadn't been to school since the seventh grade," she said. "But I worked hard and started getting good grades."

Clingan's hard work and 4.0 grade-point average earned her the tile of Cypress College's Outstanding Graduate in 2010. She's already set to pursue her master's at Cal State Long Beach and plans to earn her doctorate at UC Irvine.

Clingan credits her success to her own determination and a family who "didn't give up on her." She now lives in Cypress with her wife and 8-year-old daughter.

Clingan hopes to conduct further research with a focus on reforming drug laws. California, with its overcrowded prisons, needs a better system for treating and preventing drug addiction, she said.

"We need to have a better long-term solution for integrating recovering drug addicts back into society," she said. "There's a lot more we can do."